Try Nomad’s dedicated bar menu during Rising. To complement dishes like hot smoked fish with apple, witlof and Yarra Valley salmon caviar, there’ll be a cocktail made in collaboration with Archie Rose Distilling Co. Walk-ins are welcome, or book your seat up at the bar online.

Rising is a perfect excuse to try Hazel, a refined two-floor restaurant on Flinders Lane. It’s offering a set menu ($55pp) from Wednesday to Saturday throughout Rising, which includes a charcuterie plate, maple-roasted carrots, mussels, and a glass of pét-nat. It’s central, so you can head straight to a show afterwards. But not before booking a table.

Victoria highlights the best of the state’s food, drink and art in a sprawling riverside venue. And it’s right among the CBD’s main Rising hubs in Federation Square. Book a seat on the terrace and enjoy a set menu ($65pp) of roasted Jerusalem artichoke soup, pine mushroom rosti, and a smoked O’Connor beef cheek roll, all alongside a glass of Victorian wine, beer or soft drink.

This fun restaurant showcases the best of Indigenous ingredients and cuisine right in Federation Square. For Rising, it’s also serving up Australian gins infused with native ingredients. Enjoy your gin tasting with gluten-free canapes – including namas (a coconut-cured fish), kangaroo tartare, and taro hash brown with yam pate and crispy saltbush. Book your spot online before, and make the most of its central location after.

Head upstairs to Bar 133, a moody cocktail bar, for a dedicated pre-dinner menu for two ($60). Throughout Rising, it’s paying tribute to the moon with half a dozen oysters with champagne mignonette, and two Gibson Martinis. Book ahead, and enjoy the short stroll over to Melbourne Town Hall afterwards for Euphoria.

This is one of Melbourne’s best Japanese restaurants. On Sunday June 11, you can book one of just 12 seats upstairs for its intimate chef’s table in collaboration with Rising. Watch as executive chef Yonge Kim prepares a delicate multi-course feast with a strong seafood focus ($200pp, 10 per cent Sunday surcharge). Bookings are essential, and seats here often sell out, so get in quick.

A full meal at Mabu Mabu is a brilliant way to enjoy Indigenous ingredients and cuisines. Book in for four creative courses ($90pp) on Wednesday June 14, which might include pepper-leaf-smoked emu or fried crocodile. Contact Mabu Mabu to secure your spot.

Hazel is a pared-back eatery that stretches over two floors of Flinders Lane’s historic Richard Allen & Son. And it’s hosting a dedicated four-course feast ($150pp) for Rising on Wednesday June 14. Enjoy a cocktail on arrival before tucking into an elaborate menu that celebrates seasonal ingredients and low-waste cooking. Bookings are essential.

This Thai street-food spot is a cult Melbourne fave. Brave the queues for pad krapow, aromatic boat noodles, spicy papaya salads, crying tiger (slow-cooked and grilled beef brisket), mixed Thai hotpot and more.

Open till very late on weekends, this swish, marble-clad bar and diner is your first port of call at the five-storey Pacific House building. Come for Mediterranean-inspired plates and tapped cocktails before hitting the rooftop.

Small, lively and theatrical, this barbeque-powered Thai restaurant is a top spot to try dishes from all over the country, paired with highly complementary beers, wines and cocktails.

There are still constant queues during the dinner rush at this buzzing Thai diner. The pay-off is some of Melbourne’s best (and spiciest) Thai food, including more than a dozen kinds of papaya salad, a crowd-pleasing tom yum with instant noodles and mookata, the signature hotpot-barbeque hybrid.

You’ll find some of the best dumplings in town in an arcade off Chinatown. Don’t let the long line deter you. The staff at this stripped back, all-day Chinese diner keep the queues moving quickly. Shandong is known for its seafood so be sure to add a plate to the order.

Supper Inn is a BYO Melbourne institution. Just ask Melbourne’s top chefs.

Offering no-nonsense Cantonese dining in the heart of the CBD, Ling Nan has been satisfying Melbourne’s late-night cravings for around three decades. New location, same must-order XO pippies.

Cheap, delicious and fun, as all great malatang joints should be. Fill your golden pot with meat, tofu, noodles and vegetables from the self-serve fridge, then bathe your spoils in hot-and-sour Sichuan-style broth.

Parcs walks the talk on sustainability. The wine bar and diner uses leftover produce from its sibling venues. And an ex-Brae chef transforms it into inventive dishes (like mandarin-and-watermelon kimchi) for 12 menus per year.

Walk down the nondescript staircase and let your eyes adjust. There’s no natural light at this New York-inspired French bistro – that’s why it’s so easy to lose track of time here. It's also home to one of Melbourne's most famous late-night burgers.

This sultry sibling to Sunda is every bit as stellar. The menu effortlessly blends Southeast Asian flavours, native Australian ingredients and ancient techniques.

Starting in the 1940s as a place for migrant waiters to unwind after a shift, this Melbourne icon still serves reliably good pastas and desserts. There’s nothing fancy here – just good wine in glass tumblers, humble family-run hospitality, and a chalkboard menu of hearty Italian classics.

Venetian elegance, New York energy and Melbourne nostalgia collide at restaurateur Chris Lucas’s lavish brasserie and grill. Settle into the grand dining room for charcoal-fired bistecca, show-stopping tiramisu, quintessentially Italian cocktails and lots of tableside theatrics.

From the mind of acclaimed chef Victor Liong, this diner reimagines traditional Chinese flavours through a refined modern lens. Look for it down a graffiti-covered alley off Flinders Lane.

It’s tricky to pin down Coda’s flavour-punching dishes. Modern Asian? Euro-Vietnamese fusion? Pop in pre-theatre for some scallops and a glass of wine, or do your next special occasion here. Coda is supremely versatile, and one of Melbourne’s best.

The flavours at celebrity chef Shane Delia’s opulent Maha are familiar, but they’re assembled with more finesse than your average Middle Eastern restaurant. Vibrant mezze, a must-have lamb shoulder and an affordable wine list make this a winner for group dining.

The restaurant responsible for igniting Melbourne's love for modern Spanish food.

An authentic tapas experience.

This lively cantina is all about home-style Mexican. Expect beef tacos exactly how they’re served in Mexico, prawn-and-chorizo tamales and a jiggly chocolate flan. Plus: eight different Margaritas and hard-to-find agave spirits.

Top-quality sushi and sashimi since 1981.

Asado is Spanish for roast. And that’s exactly the focus at this tan-leather-filled restaurant, which showcases grilled meats and big flavours. From the team behind San Telmo, Pastuso and Palermo, Asado encourages you to share a spread of tapas as well as meat, seafood and vegetables charred on the parrilla.

The cult US burger giant's first location in Melbourne. Drop in for burgers starring double handmade patties (with free choice of toppings), daily-cut fries, hot dogs, shakes and more.

Single malt, creative cocktails and beers on tap will lure you riverside.

Unwind before or after the the theatre.

This venue from the European Group is not quite a pub, not quite a wine bar. And it’s open late.

A Taiwanese eatery specialising in soup dumplings.

After all these years, moody Tipo 00 still attracts queues of people hoping for a taste of its simple yet meticulously assembled pastas. A couple of secondi and dolci also grace the menu, alongside salumi best enjoyed at the marble bar, spritz in hand. Make sure you arrive early – very early – if you don’t have a booking.

Eyal Shani’s Israeli pita haven came to Melbourne, via Paris and Vienna.